We here at The Digital Bits are big fans of Shout!’s Scream Factory division and, not unlike Todd Doogan’s Criterion Spines Project, we wanted to cover Scream Factory’s releases by catching up on a bunch that we’ve missed while acknowledging the previous ones. We’ll also be covering new ones here as well. This column will go up on a bi-weekly basis, so be sure to check back in another two weeks for another pile of Scream Factory goodness.

First up is a double feature of Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror, both terrific horror anthologies. Tales from the Crypt in particular contains one of the creepiest and more effective Christmas horror stories. Speaking of Christmas, new on the slate is a Collector’s Edition of Black Christmas, a title long sought after by Scream Factory fans and one that I believe many will feel was worth the wait. Also new on the chopping block is Jack’s Back, a great little thriller mostly forgotten by genre fans. Next is George A. Romero’s Monkey Shines, one of his most enjoyable non-Dead movies. And last but not least is a double feature of TerrorVision and The Video Dead, one of Scream Factory’s earliest releases and still one of their most fun. [Read on here…]

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

Now then... we have some good Blu-ray announcement news for you guys today...

First up, Universal has announced a new King Kong: Ultimate Edition Blu-ray for release on 2/7 (SRP $19.98). It’s a 3-disc set that will include 2 Blu-rays and a DVD, plus a Digital HD copy. The release will include both the theatrical and extended versions of the film, along with over 13 hours of bonus content. You’ll get the full-length Recreating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of King Kong documentary, all of director Peter Jackson’s Production Diaries, nearly 3 hours’ worth of Post Production Diaries, 30 minutes of Deleted Scenes with an introduction by Jackson, 7 featurettes (The Eighth Blunder of the World, The Making of a Shot: The T-Rex Fight, Skull Island: A Natural History, Kong’s New York, 1933, A Night in Vaudeville, King Kong Homage, Pre-Visualization Animatics), and more. Sounds like this is essentially the long-awaited Blu-ray upgrade of the previous (and amazingly comprehensive) DVD box set. Perhaps a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release will follow when King Kong: Skull Island arrives in theaters and on disc next year.

CBS and Paramount have set Star Trek: Enterprise – The Complete Series for Blu-ray release on 2/14 (SRP $117). There’s no new special feature content, but you’ll finally be able to own the complete series in a single package. A DVD version is also being released earlier, on 1/10 (SRP $89.98 but it’s available for pre-order on Amazon for just $50 at the moment). I really wish the powers that be had cared this much about the show when it was still on the air. Anyway...

Lionsgate will release American Pastoral on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/7.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing a brand new Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: 50th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/7.

Any fans of the BBC’s Sherlock out there? Well, look for them to release Sherlock: Season Four on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/24 (SRP $39.98 and $29.98).

Mill Creek Entertainment is releasing Glitter on Blu-ray on 1/3.

And here’s something cool: Shout! Factory has announced a new Shout Select title for release on Blu-ray next year: a Red Dawn: Collector’s Edition! Street date is TBA.

We here at The Digital Bits are big fans of Shout!’s Scream Factory division and, not unlike Todd Doogan’s Criterion Spines Project, we wanted to cover Scream Factory’s releases by catching up on a bunch that we’ve missed while acknowledging the previous ones. We’ll also be covering new ones here as well. This column will go up on a bi-weekly basis, so be sure to check back in another two weeks for another pile of Scream Factory goodness.

First up is Beneath, a Larry Fessenden giant fish movie that I’m actually a little less hard on than I was when I originally wrote the review. Today, I’d probably give it more of a B or a B- as it’s grown on me since then. New to Blu-ray this week are both Rabid and Dead Ringers, a pair of David Cronenberg movies that are stacked with some great extras worth digging into. Also new, at least as far as catching up with older Scream Factory titles is concerned, is The Monkey’s Paw, a Chiller movie that actually has some merit. And last but not least, Paul Schrader’s terrific remake of Cat People. [Read on here…]

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

We here at The Digital Bits are big fans of Shout!’s Scream Factory division and, not unlike Todd Doogan’s Criterion Spines Project, we wanted to cover Scream Factory’s releases by catching up on a bunch that we’ve missed while acknowledging the previous ones. We’ll also be covering new ones here as well. This column will go up on a bi-weekly basis, so be sure to check back in another two weeks for another pile of Scream Factory goodness.

First up is Escape from New York, a title that Bill covered sometime ago. It’s a solid release with a great transfer and extras, and just happens to be one of my favorite movies. New to Blu-ray this week is Bubba Ho-Tep, another personal favorite of mine, with a barrage of terrific extras to check out. Following that up is the great Amityville Horror Trilogy boxed set, which is another older review, but this time from good old Dr. Jahnke. Also new to the chopping block is the Blacula/Scream Blacula Scream double feature Blu-ray release. And last but not least, Wes Craven’s Deadly Blessing, one of Scream Factory’s very first releases. [Read on here…]

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

I hope you’re all enjoying your various Halloween marathons, parties, and other activities. I’ve been busy getting a lot of reviews ready as this has been a heavy couple of months for horror releases, as I’m sure you already know. I know I won’t get to all of it before the month is out, but I’ll get to as many of them as I can. I have some good titles lined up for the rest of this week and, hopefully, we won’t have a repeat of Friday and we can stay on schedule.

This week I’ll be checking out several new titles from Scream Factory, Lionsgate, Arrow Video, and Warner Bros. As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

That’s all from me for this week, so see you next time and enjoy the reviews!

Meanwhile, know that I’m going to be spending the next few days working my way through a stack of new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and regular Blu-rays in order to post reviews here on The Bits, including some major 3rd and 4th quarter releases. And yes… you can expect that Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3D – Collector’s Edition will be among them. So keep checking back for those as I knock them out. [Read on here…]

We’ve got some great announcement news for you today...

First, our friends at Kino Lorber have revealed that they’re going to be releasing the Coen Brothers’ Barton Fink (1991) on Blu-ray and DVD soon! Now if we can just get The Ladykillers (2004) on Blu-ray, I think that’s the complete Coen oeuvre.

It appears Kino has also gotten the rights to release The Wanderers (1979) and Josef von Sternberg’s final film Anatahan (1953) on Blu-ray and DVD too in the coming months, as they’re returning the films to theaters for a limited time in a new 2K restoration. Other Kino titles to look forward to include ZPG (Zero Population Growth) (1971) on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/3/17, The Good Son (1993) on Blu-ray (TBA), and Cyborg 2087 (1966), Dimension 5 (1966), and 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) on Blu-ray and DVD (TBA).

The Warner Archive has just revealed that they’re working on new Blu-ray editions of The Goodbye Girl (1977) and Time After Time (1979), each released with a new HD remaster of the film.

A company called Shriek Show has apparently gotten the rights to release Al Adamson’s Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) on Blu-ray on 12/13. From the Amazon listing, “The special edition Blu-ray includes an audio commentary by writer/producer Sam Sherman, a documentary on Independent International Pictures, a rare alternate ending, deleted scenes, a deleted scene with Famous Monsters editor Forrest J Ackerman and Dracula, rare 8mm movie location footage, the original theatrical trailer, TV spot and an extensive photo gallery.” You can see the cover artwork below.

Shout! Factory has announced the DVD release of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXVII on 11/22, featuring the previously unreleased episodes The Human Duplicators, Escape 2000, The Horror of Party Beach, and Invasion of the Neptune Men, plus extras.

Lionsgate has set the CG-animated The Wild Life for Blu-ray Combo and DVD release on 11/29. They also have Jackie Chan Presents: Amnesia coming on DVD and Digital HD on 1/3/17, followed by The Whole Truth (starring Keanu Reeves and Renee Zellweger) on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on 1/17/17.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is releasing Scream Queens: The Complete First Season on DVD on 12/6.

And for you U.K. readers, Eureka has set Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Creepy for Blu-ray/DVD Combo release on 23/1/17.

We’ll leave you with a look at the Blu-ray cover artwork for a few of the titles mentioned above (click on the covers to pre-order them on Amazon.com)…

In announcement news today, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has set the release of Morgan on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray formats for 12/13.

Whoever wins the World Series, you’ll be able to buy Major League Baseball: 2016 World Series Collector’s Edition from Shout! Factory on 12/13.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has set 12 Monkeys: Season Two for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/17/17. The studio has also set Battleship (2012) for release on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format that same day. Here’s hoping they’re considering Apollo 13 for 4K.

Broadgreen Entertainment has set The Dressmaker for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/27, starring Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, and Hugo Weaving.

And Lionsgate will release Rob Zombie’s 31 on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/20.

Also today, if you’re an Xbox One S user who wants to dive more in to the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format, here’s good news: Engadget has confirmed that Microsoft is adding Dolby Atmos playback (via bitstream) to the console in a future free firmware update. There’s no word yet about DTS:X, but one would think that’s possible too and could happen at some point.

We’ll leave you with a look at the Blu-ray and 4K cover artwork for a few of the titles mentioned above and more (click on each to pre-order them on Amazon.com)...

After Friday’s web issues (which continued yesterday), we’re back with a normal daily news post here at The Bits and also some new disc reviews. But we’re going to be doing some additional work all this week to try and make some improvements to the server. So updates over the next few days may be a little spotty. However, we’re working on lots of new disc reviews, including Independence Day: Resurgence and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on 4K Ultra HD which we hope to post later this week. [Read on here…]

This is interesting: It appears that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is finally going back and releasing the early seasons of Prison Break on Blu-ray on 12/6 (specifically 1, 2, 3, and 4 - click the links to pre-order).

Well Go USA has set Phantasm: Ravager for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/6.

And Paramount’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is now available for pre-order on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format. Street date is TBA.

Here’s a look at some Blu-ray cover artwork for a few of the titles mentioned above and more…

More Halloween goodness on the way. This past week, we finally managed to get up all of our decorations, which was a huge job, both inside and outside the house. We’ve also been watching a ton of Halloween-related movies, like I’m sure most of you have. It’s certainly more appealing than keeping up with the current election, that’s for sure.

Anyways, don’t forget that both Turner Classic Movies and IFC are showing a ton of great horror movies this month. Not to be outdone, you may want to check out what AMC is doing this month as well. There’s certainly plenty of options in the horror department.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

That’s all from me for this week, so see you next time and enjoy the reviews!

In announcement news today, Universal has set Oliver Stone’s Snowden for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/20. No word yet of a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release.

Universal will also release Mr. Robot: Season Two on Blu-ray and DVD on 1/10 (SRP $49.98 and $44.98). Extras will include deleted scenes and a pair of featurettes (named as files: Careful.Massacre.of.the.Bourgeoisie.1984-VHSrip.mp4 and Behind_The_Mask_Mr_Robot_2.0.mov).

The Cohen Media Group has set Kent Jones’ Hitchcock/Truffaut documentary for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/20. Extras will include 5 featurettes (Q&A with Kent Jones & Noah Baumbach, An Appreciation of Notorious, Peter Bogdanovich Remembers Hitchcock, Richard Linklater on Truffaut, and Rope: Pro and Con).

Paramount’s Ben-Hur (2016) remake is available for Blu-ray and DVD pre-order on Amazon with a street date of 12/13. Again, no word of a 4K release yet.

Paramount has also set Florence Foster Jenkins for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/13.

Cinedigm will release Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/13.

Shout! Factory has set Dead of Winter for Blu-ray release on 1/10.

Anchor Bay will release Larry Charles’ Army of One on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/15.

Image Entertainment has set a double feature of Crystal Lake Memories and Never Sleep Again for Blu-ray release on 1/10 as well.

Arrow Video has set Takashi Miike’s Black Society Trilogy (includes Shinjuku Triad Society, Rainy Dog, and Ley Lines) for 2-disc Special Edition release on Blu-ray on 1/17 (SRP $49.95). You’ll get new HD transfers of all three films, with original uncompressed PCM stereo audio and optional English subtitles. Extras will include new interviews with director Takashi Miike and actor Show Aikawa, new audio commentaries for all three films by Miike biographer Tom Mes, original theatrical trailers for all three films, and reversible sleeve packaging featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon. The first pressing will also include an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films.

While we don’t have a street date yet, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has already set Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant for pre-order on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray formats on Amazon.

Also coming soon from Kino Lorber are J. Lee Thompson’s What a Way to Go! (1964), Henry Koster’s No Highway in the Sky (1951), Henry King’s Prince of Foxes (1949), Paul Wendkos’ The Mephisto Waltz (1971), Allan Dwan’s Zaza (1923), and William Witney’s Sunset in the West (1950). And they’ve set Loophole (1981), Who? (1975), Stryker (1983), and The Internecine Project (1974) for Blu-ray and DVD release on 1/3, followed by Scavenger Hunt (1979), David and Bathsheba (1951), and The Unholy Four (1970) for 1/10.

Finally today, we’ve learned from Kino Lorber that they’re working on a long-awaited new Blu-ray release of Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat (1944), featuring a new audio commentary by film historian Tim Lucas, audio commentary by film professor Drew Casper, The Making of Lifeboat featurette, and an animated montage of images.

Here’s a look at the Blu-ray cover artwork for some of the titles listed above (click on each to pre-order them on Amazon.com)...

Today’s update is quick one, as we’re doing a lot of disc review work here this week.

To wit... our own Tim Salmons has just checked in with his thoughts on Shout! and Scream Factory’s new limited edition Blu-ray titles, including Message from Space, The Velvet Vampire, and Time Walker. They’re only available from the Shout! website and are limited to 1,000 copies each. Do give the reviews a look. Message from Space in particularly is worth your time. [Read on here…]

Also today, we’ve got a look for you at the final cover artwork for Universal’s upcoming Bourne catalog films in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format, as well as the final U.S. art for Sony’s newly-announced Underworld and Resident Evil: Afterlife on the format (see below). Don’t forget that you can click on each cover to pre-order the title on Amazon.com (and doing so helps to support our work here at The Bits, which we appreciate!)...

Whew. Lemme tell ya. I love Halloween, but it wears me out every year. There’s so much going on, including tons of reviews for the site, that it’s difficult to keep track of it all and still be standing at the end of the day. And unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the Young Frankenstein screening that I mentioned last week as it was sold out, but I may or may not try to attend the encore presentation of it. We’ll see.

Also, I mentioned last week that Turner Classic Movies is showing a ton of great horror movies this month, but you may also want to check out IFC’s schedule. They have some great old B-movie from the 1950s and 1960s that they’re airing regularly, every morning. Definitely something worth putting on while having your coffee if you’re a horror fan.

This week I’ll be checking out several new titles from Scream Factory, Warner Bros, and an oldie, but a goodie, from Vinegar Syndrome. As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

That’s all from me for this week, so see you next time and enjoy the reviews!

In announcement news today, Marvel and Disney have finally announced the Blu-ray release of Marvel’s Daredevil: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray on 11/10 (SRP $39.99). All 13 episodes will be included, though there’s no word of any extras.

Meanwhile, Disney has also announced a Disney’s The Jungle Book 3D: Collector’s Edition for release on 11/15. The 3-disc set includes the Blu-ray 3D version of the film plus the previously-released regular Blu-ray, and DVD. The set will also include 5 new featurettes (The Bare Necessities: From the Jungle to the Bayou, The Return of a Legend, The Jungle Effect, Developing Kaa, and The Jungle Book Around the World) in addition to the previously-released features. Clearly, this is a new pattern for Disney releases, because it’s the same thing they did with Star Wars: The Force Awakens – release a regular Blu-ray and then a Collector’s Edition with Blu-ray 3D later.

Lionsgate has set The Wild Life for Blu-ray Combo, DVD, and On Demand release on 11/19, with the Digital HD release due on 11/22.

Scream Factory has just set the Poltergeist II: The Other Side – Collector’s Edition and the Poltergeist III: Collector’s Edition for release on Blu-ray on 1/24/17. Each will include brand new extras (TBA).

CBS has finally set Star Trek: The Original Series – The Roddenberry Vault for Blu-ray release on 12/13 (SRP $76.99). The 2-disc set will include 12 Original Series episodes, along with “behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the series as well as alternate takes, deleted scenes, omitted dialogue, outtakes, and original visual FX elements.”

Falco Ink has set Doctor Thorne for release on DVD on 10/18 and Digital HD on 10/17. This is a new British film from the creator of Downton Abbey.

On the catalog front, Warner has announced a new Space Jam: 20th Anniversary Edition for release on Blu-ray Combo on 11/15 (SRP $19.98). It will come in new Steelbook packaging. Extras will include audio commentary with director Joe Pytka, Bugs Bunny (voiced by Billy West), and Daffy Duck (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker), the Jammin with Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan featurette, and a pair of music videos.

Here’s something interesting: Paramount has just announced a new It’s a Wonderful Life: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition for release on 10/11. We don’t have the SRP yet, and it doesn’t appear that the set will include any new disc-based extras. This is just a repackage with swag. You get the most recent Blu-ray version (with the original B&W and colorized version of the film), a DVD, and a set of “limited edition art cards.” Here’s what it looks like...

For you U.K. Blu-ray fans, Eureka is releasing Roxanne (1987) on Blu-ray and DVD combo (in the U.K. only) on 11/21.

First... we now know that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment plans to release War Dogs on 4K UHD BD on 11/22, but we also know (because they’ve been listed for pre-order on Amazon) that they’re also bringing Goodfellas, The Unforgiven, Sully, I Am Legend, The Town, and Argo to the format before the end of the year. Click on the title links provided to pre-order.

All right, we’ve been busy here at The Bits these last couple days. Just a quick note first: Tomorrow is my birthday, so I’m not working. I turn 49, if you can believe it, which I can’t. But that’s how these things go. In any case, to make up for it, we’ve got a bunch of good stuff for you all to enjoy today. So let’s get to it...

In announcement news today, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has officially set DC’s Suicide Squad for release on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format on 12/13 (SRP $44.99, but Amazon has it discounted right now for just $29.99), along with the Suicide Squad: Extended Cut that same day on Blu-ray Combo, Blu-ray 3D Combo, and DVD (selling for $24.99, $29.99, and $17.95 on Amazon at the moment, respectively). Note that the 4K UHD package will include the theatrical cut on 4K but the Extended Cut on Blu-ray. Amazon also has a retailer exclusive version of the regular Blu-ray packaged with a Harley Quinn figurine and another with a Deadshot figure (SRP $116.99 for each of those). The Digital HD release is due on 11/15. Warner hasn’t yet announced what the special features might be on this release, and frankly it’s a puzzle what will be in the Extended Edition. Word is there were two versions of the film produced originally: Director David Ayer’s darker version and a more poppy and colorful version cut together by Trailer Park (which produced the film’s trailer campaign and probably the special features too). The final theatrical version – which was a hot mess – was apparently a strange hybrid of the two. So now we get a new Extended Cut. Not sure what to make of it. But I guess we’ll see. You can see the cover artwork for the Blu-ray versions here (click on each to pre-order)...

Warner has also made Constantine: The Complete Series available for release on Blu-ray Disc via the Warner Archive – it’s available now.

Also today, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has officially set Jason Bourne for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on 12/6, with the Digital HD due on 11/15. Extras on all versions will include 2 behind-the-scenes featurettes (Bringing Back Bourne and The Athens Escape), 3 Bourne to Fight stunt featurettes (Bare-Knuckle Boxing, Close Quarters, and Underground Rumble), and 2 Las Vegas Showdown featurettes (Convention Chaos and Shutting Down the Strip). Here’s the cover artwork for that…

As you can see, Universal has also set Roger Corman’s Death Race 2050 for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on 1/17/17. The film stars Manu Bennett and Malcolm McDowell. Extras on the Blu-ray will include 3 featurettes (The Making of 2050, Cars! Cars! Cars!, and The Look of 2050).

Meanwhile, Olive Films has set Brazil (1944) and Cheers for Miss Bishop (1940) for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/6, along with Borderless (2014) on DVD only.

PBS Distribution will release the Smithsonian Channel’s Building Star Trek documentary on DVD only on 11/1.

And Lionsgate has set Southside with You for Blu-ray and DVD release on 12/13, with the Digital HD version due on 11/19.

That’s all for now. Enjoy the reviews, have a pleasant Friday, and a great weekend. And for those of you in the Southeast who might be in the path of Hurricane Matthew over the next few days, stay safe!

Welcome to October! I’ve been gone on vacation for the past couple of weeks, but it’s good to be back. I have a lot of reviews to get in this month, including both new and older titles that we haven’t covered here previously, so be prepared for that. I also have a new bi-weekly feature at the beginning of next month, and if you’re a Scream Factory fan, you will definitely appreciate it.

And since it’s the Halloween season, I’ll be attending several theatrical events this month. This weekend we checked out Tim Burton’s latest, which is Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and anybody who follows me on Facebook knows how I felt about it... not good. Anyways, Rifftrax is doing a live riffing of Carnival of Souls later this month as well, which I’m a little torn over, but I never miss one of their shows. Also, on October 5 (Wednesday), Fathom Events is presenting Young Frankenstein in theaters for a one night event, which includes a live introduction from Mel Brooks himself. I’m also attending a marathon of all of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies on October 29 at my local Alamo Drafthouse. Needless to say, Halloween certainly keeps me busy every year.

And if you’re staying in for much of Halloween this year, then there’s plenty on TV to check out. As a matter of fact, you might want to clear your DVRs as there is a ton of Halloween programming, especially on Turner Classic Movies. They’re showing quite a range of monster movies, slashers, and everything in between. You can read all about it here.

This week I’ll be checking out several new titles from Shout! Factory, Scream Factory, Shout Select, and Lionsgate’s new Vestron Video Collector’s Series label. As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

Also, for anyone who listens to my Podcast Salmonella show, I’m changing the format of it and doing something radically different with it. Previously, I would get myself and various guests on to chat about movies, music, and comic books, but I’m a little bored with the results and I thought I’d do an experiment with it and see how it turns out. Hopefully I’ll get a new episode up in the near future, but for now, you can still listen to previous episodes on both YouTube and Soundcloud.

That’s all from me for this week, so see you next time and enjoy the reviews!

A quick follow-up note this afternoon: We’ve gotten an overwhelming (and overwhelmingly positive) response to our comments on Friday about Star Trek Beyond – many hundreds of messages, comments, and e-mails over the weekend. Every single one of you seems to agree that it’s upsetting that Paramount and Bad Robot are once again scattering exclusive extras to retailers. Nevertheless, we’re officially done talking about it. Let these studios know what you think via social media if you wish, but we’ve done our part to try and stop this practice. It seems as if these companies simply don’t care enough that it irritates fans and consumers to actually stop doing it, so we’re washing our hands of the matter. It’s simply not worth the aggravation. Better to focus our attention instead on praising the companies and releases that actually do right by their consumers. (See: Shout! Factory above.)

In other news, Amazon is currently selling Universal’s new Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Collection and The Wolf Man: Complete Legacy Collection on Blu-ray for just $19.99 each, which is a terrific price all things considering and a great deal (50%) off the regular SRP of $39.98 each (click on the title links to read our reviews of each). If you’re a fan of these films – and who isn’t, especially in October with Halloween on the way – act quickly to take advantage. Here’s the cover art again (with clickable Amazon links)...

Kino Lorber has revealed that they’re working on a Blu-ray and DVD release of Zaza (1923) – street date is TBA. They have also set David and Bathsheba (1951), created from a new 4K restoration, for BD only release on 1/10/17.

And PBS has announced a new Downton Abbey: The Complete Limited Edition Collector’s Set for DVD release on 10/8 (SRP $199.99), as well as Downton Abbey: The Complete Series on both Blu-ray and DVD (SRP $149.99 and $129.99). The Limited Edition Collector’s Set includes a pull-bell, a set of 6 cork coasters, The Costumes of Downton Abbey photo booklet, and collectible hardcover book packaging. All 3 versions appear to include 5 hours worth of new extras, as well as all the existing extras.

Also, it appears that Mill Creek’s Miami Vice: The Complete Series and Knight Rider: The Complete Series on Blu-ray have been delayed a week. You should now expect them to street on 10/11. Thanks to Bits reader Bill M. for that.

And that’s it for today. I’m off to L.A. to attend tonight’s premiere of Shin Godzilla with FUNimation. I’ve really been looking forward to this one. I’ll be sure to post my thoughts on it tomorrow.

This week I managed to catch a screening of Rifftrax Live! Mothra, which was a lot of fun and well-worth your time if you want to see the encore showing Tuesday. I also had a birthday this past Saturday, so I got stay home, eat lots of food, lay in bed all day, and watch movies with my gal. To say the least, it was a pleasant day, but more like a relaxing and fun day. It’s funny how when you start getting older you want to do nothing more than to kick back and do nothing as much as you can... that or I’m just getting lazier.

On a related subject, I just wanted to quickly apologize for not getting a third review up last week. I had one in the works, but due to many real life activities getting in the way, I wasn’t able to meet my Friday deadline. It’s a title that you’ll definitely sometime down the road, that’s for sure.

This week I’ll be checking out three new titles, one from Anchor Bay, one from Scream Factory, and one from Shout! Factory. All of them should be titles that many of you will be very excited about getting your hands on. I know I was. As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

Also, for anyone who listens to my Podcast Salmonella show, I’m changing the format of it and doing something radically different with it. Previously, I would get myself and various guests on to chat about movies, music, and comic books, but I’m a little bored with the results and I thought I’d do an experiment with it and see how it turns out. Hopefully it will be done soon. I still might do a regular show occasionally, and you can still check out the older shows on both YouTube and Soundcloud.

That’s all from me for this week, so see you next time and enjoy the reviews!

So um... yeah. Since yesterday morning, when the SRP and final product images first went up on Amazon – and even before we posted our column on the subject yesterday afternoon – we started getting e-mails and private messages from diehard Rings fans asking: “Is Warner’s Middle Earth: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray set really $799.99?!”

I understand the feeling behind that question, believe me, because I feel it too. When I first saw that $799 price listed, I thought surely it was an error. Especially when you consider that the theatrical set was listed at $68.99, and when that price info quickly disappeared.

I figured there was absolutely no way Warner would charge $800 for a Blu-ray release of these films that contained no new disc-based content whatsoever. Had to be a mistake. [Read on here…]

Which was why I was so surprised to see it appear again last night... and stick: $799.99. And yes, I’ve now confirmed it with the studio. That is the price. Not including sales tax, mind you.

For a SHELF.

Oh my GOD.

Now, you might be saying: “But Bill... look at it! It’s not just a shelf! You get all those discs! 30 of them. Plus you get that swag – an art book, and cards, the packaging.” True. What you do get amounts to the Blu-ray 2D versions of all the Extended Edition films, plus digital copies of both the Theatrical and Extended Editions, plus the bonus discs from all of the Extended Editions and the bonus discs from the Theatrical Editions too. Plus the packaging and swag.

Does this set also come personally delivered to your door by Benedict Cumberbatch wearing a dragon suit? Because at that price it probably should.

(Mad props to my friend Amy Wagner, of the delightful Stuart Ng Books, whose joke that is. It really made me laugh yesterday over all this. And boy, I needed a good laugh.)

So... here’s Problem #1: The people who are going to most want this set for that packaging are the diehard fans of Jackson’s films. And you can bet that they probably already own most – if not all – of those discs. So the people who most want that set are people who already have all the content – and they’re being asked to pay $800 for new packaging and swag alone.

Here’s Problem #2: Those same fans have been promised for years by the filmmakers that when the 6-film saga was finally complete, there would be a truly ultimate release of all the films with new documentary content, deleted scenes, outtakes, and all the as-yet-untold stories. In other words, new bonus content.

Here’s Problem #3: Peter Jackson and company wanted to make that content, proposed doing so, and the studio passed. (Yes, I’m confident that’s true and we have it from multiple sources now.) It sure ain’t here in this set.

Here’s Problem #4: The content you do get in the set isn’t even truly “ultimate,” because again you don’t get the Theatrical versions of these films on disc, and you don’t get the Blu-ray 3D versions of the Hobbit films.

Now, I don’t know who at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment made these decisions, but I’d be willing to bet that precious few of them have even seen all of the Extended Editions of these films, much less watched all of these extras. They are not truly fans of these films. And that’s a problem. Because this decision is seriously out of touch with what those fans would like to see and be willing to pay for. No one who is actually a fan of these films would ever make so wrong-headed a decision about a release like this.

It’s really deeply insulting to diehard fans. As in kick in the balls, poke in the eye, having salt tossed in your face, and then getting crapped on for good measure insulting.

Why, you might ask? Well... let me walk you through it, so there’s no confusion…

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Theatrical Edition on DVD when it was first released back in early 2002 for $19.99.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Extended Edition on DVD when it was first released back in late 2002 for $39.99.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Limited Edition on DVD (including both the theatrical and extended editions plus new extras) when it was released back in 2006 for $29.99 (because it had all-new bonus content).

So that’s a possible outlay of $90 per film, times three films (or $270) just for The Lord of the Rings films on DVD.

Then there was The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Theatrical Edition on Blu-ray when it was released back in 2010 for $99.98.

And The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Edition on Blu-ray when it was released back in 2011 for $119.98.

So now you’re up to $490 spent for just the Rings films over the years, if you’ve been a loyal diehard fan and collected all the available versions because you want all the content and extras in the best possible quality.

Then there was each of the Hobbit films on Theatrical DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D (for $28.98, $44.95, and $44.95 each), and the DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D Extended films (for $34.99. $35.99 and $54.98), as well as The Hobbit Trilogy: Extended Edition on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D (for $78.92, $99.98, and $154.98). Now, all that happened post Blu-ray, so you probably didn’t buy it on both formats. But some of you probably did bite on the individual film releases and the various retail-exclusive packages with statuettes and swag that the studios love to offer these days.

But let’s take a guess: Go ahead and add about another $50 per film. That’ll bring you up to about $650 spent to buy these films on disc by diehard fans over the years. Keep in mind, that doesn’t include theatrical tickets, books, toys, swag, collectibles and whatever else you may have purchased.

And now, Warner is asking you to spend another $800 to re-buy most of those exact same discs just to get the nice new packaging and swag, which every diehard fan would certainly love to have.

That’s why this is insulting.

But you might be asking: “But this release isn’t targeted at the diehard fans! It’s meant for people who haven’t purchased any of the films on disc yet!” First of all, are you nuts? Second of all, who would those people be exactly that are in the market for an $800 Blu-ray set but aren’t diehard fans?

Now sure… I’ll allow that there’s a chance that Elon Musk hasn’t picked up a copy of these films on Blu-ray yet, because he’s been a little busy building rockets to go to Mars and all. But I have to believe that Elon Musk would be smarter than to pay $800 for these discs, a book, and a shelf. Because A: Rockets and Mars and all. And because B: You can buy all these discs (plus better books and more) for much cheaper individually!

This is true: I did a little window-shopping research and ran the numbers last night. For $799.99, I could – right now on Amazon – buy...

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – Theatrical Edition BD set ($21.75)

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – Extended Edition BD set ($48.99)

The Hobbit Trilogy – Theatrical Edition Blu-ray 3D Combo set ($97.89)

The Hobbit Trilogy – Extended Edition Blu-ray 3D Combo set ($106.98)

(And if you add up all those movie and extras discs, that comes to 48 discs of content – which is truly complete – as opposed to this set’s 30.) Plus...

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 3-CD Soundtrack Collection ($30)

The Hobbit Special Edition soundtrack CDs ($20 each x 3 films = $60)

The “Art of The Lord of the Rings” hardcover books for each film ($44 each x 3 = $132)

The “Art & Design of The Hobbit” hardcover books for each film ($30 each x 3 = $90)

If you’re following along at home (or the office) that comes to a subtotal of $587.61.

I don’t think I really need to say much more about how I feel personally – as a diehard fan of Peter Jackson’s films – about all this. But I will say this from a professional perspective: This may very well be the most misguided release decision I’ve seen a major studio home video operation make in the 20 years I’ve been covering this industry as the editor of The Digital Bits. It really couldn’t be more out of touch with consumers, the fans, and especially the studio’s specific target market for this release.

I am kind of shocked by it, actually.

And I’m not going to lie: It’s also a little bit sad and depressing too, that the industry has come to things this.

Now… as to what the Middle Earth fans I’m hearing from today think about this... well, I don’t want to post exact quotes here, because it’s not pretty. But I think this clip (below) from John Oliver pretty much covers the overwhelming vibe I’m getting from their e-mails and private messages today...

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Enough said.

FYI: This will be my first, last, and only comment on the above subject for the forseeable future, because it’s just too damn irritating and life is too short. So to all fans: I 100% feel your pain on this but please direct your frustration elsewhere.

One other note today and then I’m getting back to working on reviews: Shout! Factory and Scream have announced that they’re delaying the release of The Thing: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release from the original street date of 9/20 to 10/11. The reason is that they’ve discovered a few minor audio errors in the release and want to correct them before the disc ships out to consumers. Rest assured that people who pre-ordered the discs are still going to get their discs before the new street date. Adjust your plans accordingly. Here’s a link their official update message about this on their Facebook page. Hats off to them, they’ve been totally cool about it.

Well, like many of you, I checked out Suicide Squad this past weekend, and also like many of you, I just didn’t care for it all that much. I won’t go into any major details about it because it’s still pretty fresh and I don’t want to spoil anything for those who still want to see it, but I’m sure many of you already know many of the ins and outs of why certain folks didn’t like it. On the flipside, I also managed to see Star Trek Beyond as well, and I was a bit floored on that one. It’s easily the best of the new Treks, as well as the most solid film in that new franchise. It felt like they were done making the references and trying to copy what had come before and decided to tell a new story with the new cast for a change, which is what the major misstep of Into Darkness was, in my opinion. It’s not a flawless movie, but it was damned entertaining and very well made. Try to see that one in the theaters if you can before it’s gone. It’s worth the cash. [Read on here…]

Now let’s get to it, shall we? This week I’ll be checking out three new titles from Scream Factory. As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

Also, for anyone who listens to my Podcast Salmonella show, I’m changing the format of it and doing something radically different with it. Previously, I would get myself and various guests on to chat about movies, music, and comic books, but I’m a little bored with the results and I thought I’d do an experiment with it and see how it turns out. Hopefully it will be done soon. I still might do a regular show occasionally, and you can still check out the older shows on both YouTube and Soundcloud.

That’s all from me for this week, so see you next time and enjoy the reviews!

In release news today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has confirmed the 10/4 Blu-ray and DVD release of AMC’s Preacher: Season One. Look for the Blu-ray to include deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, and 4 featurettes (The Unfilmable Pilot, The Stunts of Preacher, Chainsaw Fight Breakdown, and Behind the Killing Machine: Saint of Killers).

Sony has also set Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/4, with a Digital HD release expected on 8/30. Extras will include 4 featurettes.

Best of all, Sony has just announced the 10/4 Blu-ray release of Frank Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town: 80th Anniversary Edition, complete with DigiBook packaging, audio commentary by Frank Capra Jr., a vintage advertising gallery, the original theatrical trailer, and the Frank Capra Jr. Remembers… Mr. Deeds Goes to Town featurette.

Moving on this afternoon, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has set Vikings: Season Four, Volume One for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 10/4 as well. You’ll get exclusive extended episodes on the Blu-ray, the BD exclusive The Sons of Ragnar Interactive Piece, as well as 2 featurettes (The Transformation of Rollo and The Viking Seafaring Prowess).

Paramount and DTS have announced that they’ve been working together (and will continue to going forward) to include DTS:X audio mixes on new Blu-ray titles from the studio, among them Daddy’s Home, The Big Short, Zoolander No. 2, and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

Speaking of Paramount, they’ve announced along with CBS and the Roddenberry Vault the release of Star Trek: The Original Series – The Roddenberry Vault on Blu-ray later this year, featuring all kinds of rare behind-the-scenes material from the Roddenberry Vault, much of it never seen before. The set will also include 12 classic episodes of The Original Series.

Arrow Video in the U.K. has announced the Region B Blu-ray/DVD Combo release of Joe Dante’s Matinee (1993) on 9/12. Click here for more details.

Here’s some more interesting news from director James Cameron: It seems he’s recently completed work on a new digital intermediate for the 3D re-release of Terminator 2 in theaters in October. It’s possible this could find its way to Blu-ray 3D at some point as well. More here via Variety.

I’d like to take a moment today to acknowledge the fine work being done lately by our friends over at FUNimation, who are delivering all kinds of great and rare Japanese anime titles to Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming. Anime isn’t something we talk about here at The Bits all that often, but the genre is huge, hugely popular, and hugely creative, and no one is delivering its gems on disc like FUNimation. Do check out their website here and I think you’ll see what I mean.

Finally today, I wanted to take a moment to talk about an exciting new development between The Criterion Collection and TCM Classic Movies. Together, they’re launching a new digital subscription streaming service, called FilmStruck, dedicated to making more independent, art-house, and international cinema titles and extras available to a wider audience. Criterion is also creating their own Criterion Channel streaming service, and the two will work hand-in-hand. Once The Criterion Channel is launched, it will offer digital access to Criterion’s carefully curated library of more than 1,100 films titles and extras, as well as newly created content that celebrates the cinephile love of film. Criterion’s Peter Becker explains more about this service today here in his introductory blog post. Do check it out.

To start, it appears that we’re really finally going to get James Cameron’s The Abyss on Blu-ray. Speaking at Comic-Con on a panel celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Aliens, the director revealed of The Abyss: “We’ve done a [new] wet-gate 4K scan of the original negative, and it’s going to look insanely good,” Cameron said. “We’re going to do an authoring pass in the DI for Blu-ray and HDR at the same time.” He confirmed that it’s likely due in 2017, and the fact that an HDR pass is being done too strongly suggests that a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version will be released at the same time. You can read a little more here via Variety.

Speaking of Fox’s Aliens: 30th Anniversary Edition, look for that on Blu-ray and DVD on 9/13 (SRP $24.99). The Blu-ray will include a new interview with James Cameron among other extras. The packaging will also include a collector’s art booklet along with a batch of postcards reproducing Cameron’s original production sketches. There’s no word yet of a 4K release, but we wouldn’t rule one out. Here’s what the Blu-ray package will look like (click on the image to pre-order it on Amazon)…

While we’re talking Fox, the studio has also confirmed the Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of X-Men: Apocalypse on 10/4. Here’s the final cover artwork for all three Blu-ray versions (with Amazon links)…

In other news, Paramount’s Star Trek Beyond is now available for pre-order on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray formats. We don’t have a street date or details on the extras yet, but you can see all three Blu-ray versions here (again, click on the covers to pre-order them on Amazon)…

As you can see, there’s also an Amazon-exclusive 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version that comes with 4K, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D all in the same package, as well as a replica of the U.S.S. Franklin starship from the film.

We keep having a tons of readers asking us when FUNimation will finally announce the 2017 release of Speed Racer/Mach GoGoGo on Blu-ray. It turns out they didn’t mention the title at Comic-Con, but we expect them to have more to say on the subject at the Otakon anime convention in Baltimore in a few weeks (8/12-14). Meanwhile, FUNimation did announce that they’ve picked up the home video rights to Ghost in the Shell: Innocence and expect to release it in new Blu-ray and DVD editions in the months ahead.

Meanwhile, Shout! Factory revealed that their new Transformers: The Movie – 30th Anniversary Edition (due on 9/13) features a new 4K transfer of the film. It will be available in Blu-ray Steelbook, Blu-ray, and DVD editions. The Blu-ray editions will be 2-disc sets including the film in both widescreen and full frame versions, with original 5.1 English audio. Extras will include a retrospective documentary, art and restoration featurettes, theatrical trailers, TV spots, animated storyboards, and audio commentary with director Nelson Shin, story consultant Flint Dille, and actress Susan Blu.

Shout! Factory also announced a new To Live and Die in L.A.: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for release on a date to be announced as part of their new Shout Select line.

Not to be outdone, Scream Factory has revealed an amazing slate of 13 new titles coming to Blu-ray starting in November, including a Bubba Ho-Tep: Collector’s Edition (2002), Willard (1971), Ben (1972 – the sequel to Willard), a Black Christmas: Collector’s Edition (1974), a Poltergeist II: Collector’s Edition (1986), a Poltergeist III: Collector’s Edition (1986), a Dreamscape: Collector’s Edition (1984), a Rabid: Collector’s Edition (1977), a Dead Ringers: Collector’s Edition (1988), a double feature of Slumber Party Massacre II (1987) and Slumber Party Massacre III (1990), The House That Screamed (1970), and Dead of Winter (1987). Watch for more details on these titles in the weeks and months ahead.

In other news, Blue Underground has set Lucio Fulci’s Manhattan Baby: 3-Disc Limited Edition for Blu-ray release on 10/25, mastered from a new 2K scan of the original camera negative and packed with extras.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Adult Swim have just set The Venture Bros: The Complete Sixth Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 10/4 (SRP $29.98 for Blu-ray).

Warner is also releasing Steven King’s It on Blu-ray for the first time on 10/4. They’re also re-issuing Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and a Gremlins/Gremlins 2 double feature on Blu-ray that same day.

Moving on, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set AMC’s Preacher: The Complete First Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 10/4.

Here’s something exciting… in addition their new Frankenstein and The Wolf Man Blu-ray collections, Universal is releasing a new An American Werewolf in London: Restored Edition Blu-ray on 9/27. Extras will include audio commentary with stars David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, 6 featurettes (Beware the Moon, I Walked with a Werewolf, Making An American Werewolf in London, An Interview with John Landis, Makeup Artist Rick Baker on An American Werewolf in London, and Casting of The Hand), Outtakes, Storyboards, and a Photograph Montage.

Universal has also set Grimm: The Complete Fifth Season for Blu-ray and DVD release on 9/27.

I hope all of you had a nice 4th of July celebration this weekend and saw some new movies. I’ve been in binge mode lately, watching anything and everything as much as possible on top of doing other things. As Bill always says, there just isn’t enough time in the day. That won’t stop me from trying though. [Read on here...]

I’d like to acknowledge the passing of two great directors: Robin Hardy and Michael Cimino. Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate is a particular favorite and criminally under seen by film fans. And of course, The Wicker Man is still an effective film that influenced a whole slew of horror and thriller filmmakers. Both men will be missed.

Starting this week, I’m going to take a break from doing 5 titles a week and cut it back down to 3, for several reasons. I want to be able to give each of the titles as much time and focus as they need instead of trying to rush to get them out as quickly possible, but I also have a lot of other things that I want to do and need more time to do them. That includes a couple of new things that I’ll be doing here at The Bits in the latter half of the year, which I know genre fans will enjoy. So be sure to tune in for that.

This week I’ll be checking out a couple of great new Scream Factory titles, as well as an Arrow Video title. As usual, we’ll be rolling each review out one at a time all week, so be sure to check back for new ones.

While you’re at it, if you see something you like, why don’t you purchase it through the Amazon links that we’ve provided in each review? A portion of anything that you order from Amazon after clicking through to them from our links goes to help support our work here at The Bits, and we really do appreciate your support.

Also, if you dig my opinions and such, why don’t you please take some time to check out my podcast, simply called Podcast Salmonella. I try and put up a new episode as often as I can. Myself and various guests have fun chats about movies, music, comic books, etc. So do check it out on both YouTube and Soundcloud.

A quick update on The Martian: Extended Edition… I fully intend to review the 4K release as soon as it arrives, but review product still hasn’t even shipped from Fox yet so I’m not sure if it’s going to get here this week or not. Rest assured, I’ll get on it when it arrives. I know a lot of you have been asking about it.

Today’s update is a quick one, as I’m trying to get more 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews completed for you guys. But available now here at The Bits (and posted late yesterday) are my thoughts on Fox’s Independence Day: 20th Anniversary Edition and Paramount’s Star Trek (2009). The former streeted last week. The latter should be available today, though we’re hearing reports that supplies are limited at the moment. (If I had to guess why, I would guess that maybe Paramount’s initial replication run was lower until they had a better idea what initial demand would be. But that’s just a guess.) In any case, enjoy the reviews and know that I’m working on a review of Star Trek Into Darkness as well. I should also have Fox’s The Martian: Extended Edition shortly and so that’ll be next up. [Read on here…]

Finally, a bunch of forthcoming BD and 4K titles that we’ve mentioned in the past few weeks (but which weren’t yet available for pre-order on Amazon when we first mentioned them) are now up on Amazon. So here’s some of the cover artwork with clickable Amazon pre-order links (as always, whenever you order anything from Amazon through our links here at The Bits you’re helping to support the site and we surely do appreciate it!)...

The big news today is that Microsoft revealed, at the E3 gaming convention this morning, that it plans to bow an upgraded Xbox One S in August for just $299 that will include “4K Ultra HD Video and Blu-ray” support and “HDR gaming” support. Now... the company is being a little cagey in their wording as to whether or not the unit will support actual UHD Blu-ray Discs. And I’m betting there’s a reason for that: Sony is also being cagey as to whether or not their forthcoming PS4 (which will also support 4K and HDR) will include Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc support. Here’s the thing: I’ve confirmed with Sony that the company is working on their own 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, probably for release later this year. But details remain sketchy. It could very well be that the upgraded PS4 is meant to be their mainstream UHD BD player, as was the case with the PS3 before it. Because they’re being so vague, Microsoft is too. Both companies want to be competitive with their price point. Keep in mind that the entry level price for UHD BD is already just $399. It will be interesting to see what happens in the months ahead.

“Introducing the new Xbox One S. Play the greatest games lineup, including Xbox 360 classics, on a 40% smaller console. Experience richer, more luminous colors in games and video with High Dynamic Range. Stream 4K video on Netflix and Amazon Video, and watch UHD Blu-ray movies in stunning 4K Ultra HD. Then get the enhanced comfort and feel of the new Xbox Wireless Controller, featuring textured grip and Bluetooth.”

UPDATE ON PRICING: It’s $399 for the 2 TB version launching in August, and $299 for the 500 GB version in December.

Anyway, you can read more here, here, and here, and you can see screenshots confirming the “4K Ultra HD Video and Blu-ray“ support of the Xbox One S from the company’s own E3 trailer this morning...

Also this morning, we have an update for you on Madman Entertainment’s forthcoming Region B Blu-ray release of Universal’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV series (due on 8/17). Madman tells us they’ve committed to releasing the best possible set they can afford to, given the high production costs and tight margins they face, which is why this is a limited release. This isn’t a full digital restoration – Universal sadly hasn’t paid to do one, only to scan the original episodes in HD. But Madmen tells us that the episodes still look great overall. There’s just the occasional scratch and blemish to contend with. They unfortunately don’t have the budget to approach Gil Gerard and Erin Gray to record new interviews and commentary, though they would certainly have loved to, but they are working to put together “the best collection possible using the materials available.” Universal’s HD scans were apparently done with TV syndication in mind only, so the theatrical film and feature-length episodes aren’t yet available in HD. As such, the Blu-ray will include all 39 episodes (in the original 4x3 aspect ratio) with LPCM 2.0 audio, and the following extras:

Bonus Theatrical Version of the Pilot episode (in Standard Definition)

Bonus Feature-length version of Flight of the War Witch (in Standard Definition)

Ending and Opening sequences for 2-part version of Awakening

Bonus Syndicated 2-part version of Journey to Oasis (in HD)

Opening Titles without narration

Textless Opening and Closing Titles

Isolated Music & Effects Audio Track on each episode

Bonus A3 double-sided poster of Gil Gerard and Erin Gray

Easter Eggs include Textless “in show” footage for most episodes

Here’s what the packaging will look like (click to visit the Madman Entertainment pre-order page)...

Meanwhile, the Region 4 DVD version will include all 39 episodes (in the original 4x3 aspect ratio) with LPCM 2.0 audio, and the following:

Bonus disc with the Theatrical Version of the Pilot episode

Opening titles without narration

Textless Opening and Closing titles

All right, time to get back to work on reviews. We’ll get them up as fast as we can, time permitting. Stay tuned...